Only one in three of this year's university graduates expect to get a job for which they are qualified after three years of study, according to a large survey of the class of 2009.

Confidence in the job market has hit an all-time low, with more than half of university leavers describing their prospects as "very limited".

The survey of 16,357 students due to graduate this summer, conducted by High Fliers Research every year since 1993, shows many are planning to travel abroad, or take temporary or voluntary jobs.

Only 36% believe they will be starting - or even looking for - a graduate job this year, compared with 40% a year ago. As many as 26% - the highest level ever recorded - intend to start a postgraduate course to ride out the recession.

The highest proportion of job applications already made is for teaching posts, followed by those in media, marketing and charity work. Investment banking has dropped from the second most popular choice last year to 10th this year.

Martin Birchall, the managing director of High Fliers Research, said: "Our latest survey shows that final-year students due to leave UK universities this summer are gloomy and frustrated about their employment prospects. Having invested an average of £15,000 on their degrees, tens of thousands of finalists are now set to leave university without a job offer."